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Mesa Verde National ParkView of Spruce Tree House from above.
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Mesa Verde National Park
Artifact Gallery -- Wall Painting
View of wall painting in Cliff Palace tower
Wall Painting
 

Much like we paint and plaster our own houses today, Ancestral Puebloans used layers of colorful plaster to decorate their walls, inside and out.  Designs were often painted on with a fibrous brush or with fingers using paint made from a combination of colored pigments and dilutants/binders such as water, oils, and occasionally, urine.  Keep in mind that water was scarce in this arid climate.

This painting, found inside a room at Cliff Palace, includes triangles possibly representing mountains, and geometrical designs common to Ancestral Puebloan art.  Here is a challenge – do some research and form your own theories about what these designs might represent.  Remember, no one knows for sure.

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Mesa top pueblo at Far View Sites Complex  

Did You Know?
Approximately 600 of the over 4700 archeological sites found in Mesa Verde National Park are cliff dwellings. Other sites include mesa top pueblos, farming terraces, towers, reservoirs, and check dams.

Last Updated: July 25, 2006 at 00:23 EST